The present invention generally relates to an image inputting equipment to be used in office automation apparatus for handling the images of facsimile, hand fax, personal information terminal, image reader, image recognizing apparatus, optical character reader (OCR), digital duplicating machine or the like.
Generally, an image scanner, a television camera (electronic camera) are now used as a means for converting image information into electric information. Also, an optical character reader or a bar code reader is provided for outputting figures and characters with image inputs and processing being combined with each other. They are adapted to process the read digital image data to convert them into figures and character codes, which are outputted. The conventional image inputting equipment will be described hereinafter by way of an image.scanner which can handle multivalue images.
The above described image.scanner is provided with an exposure portion for illuminating the document, a photoelectric converting portion for converting light to electricity, a document scanning portion for decomposing a document into picture elements, and so on. The image scanner is adapted to convert into electric signals with a photosensor the reflection light from the document or the brightness of the transmission light so as to output them as digital image data for each picture element. Various types of image.scanners such as a simple hand scanner, a printer mounted scanner, a facsimile type scanner, an electronic type scanner, a cylinder type scanner and a duplicator type scanner and so on are provided as such image.scanners
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a representative image reader of the above described duplicator type scanner. A reader 4 is composed of a light source 1, a lens.eye 2 and an image sensor.array 3 being integrally installed. The reader portion 4 has the light source 1, the lens array 2 and the image sensor.array 3 arranged respectively in one row, which form a so-called line scanner. Light radiated from the above described light source 1 is reflected from the surfaces of the document 5 and becomes incident into the image sensor.array 3 through the lens.array 2 so that the digital image data of one scanning line portion are read. By the parallel movement of the reader portion 4, in the arrow direction, along the document, the image information of one sheet of the document is read.
After the reading operation is effected by the above described reading portion 4, the digital image data are variably processed by a CPU (Central Processing Unit). In accordance with the digital image data, the read images are displayed on the CRT (Cathode.Ray.Tube) and/or printed by a printer.
But in the image.scanner such as the conventional duplicator type scanner or the like, the above described reader portion 4 and a display portion for a printer, CRT or the like are respectively composed as a separate unit. Since the reader portion 4 and the display portion are positioned away from each other, the comparison between the document and the reading images of the document cannot be effected with real time. Accordingly, the same document often has to be read for resolution comparison, the light, shade level adjustment, and so on.